Tourism development at stately home is too large, claim villagers

SLEDMERE ESTATE and a village parish council are at odds over plans to convert a complex of 180-year-old farm buildings into a major tourism development.

Plans have been resubmitted to convert Home Farm, in Main Street, Sledmere, into a range of new facilities, including a larger art gallery, cafe, restaurant, garden centre and farm shop.

The proposals were approved in 2013, but the planning permission has lapsed.

The application, due to be heard by East Riding councillors on March 19, is identical to the previous approval, but the scheme will be carried out in two stages rather than three.

The first phase would see the former sawmill converted to a garden centre and the cart shed turned into a visitor centre, tourist information and bicycle hire point. In the second phase other buildings would be converted to create a larger art gallery, retail space and restaurant, with an extension for a farm shop, food court and cafe.

Sledmere and Croome Parish Council says it is “simply too large” for a village of fewer than 70 homes. It believes it will impact on the village’s old-fashioned appeal and disrupt the quieter winter months when Sledmere House is closed.

However, the application is supported by planners, who say, while “undoubtedly” there will be an impact on residents, it will create extra jobs for locals, secure the future for historic buildings and “assist in creating a strong and competitive East Yorkshire economy”.